Atal Bihari Vajpayee had a close relationship with Rajasthan

Rajasthan: Actually, in politics, there are some such unique public leaders with extraordinary personalities whom no one sees through political glasses, rather all the politicians respect them by rising above party politics. Former Prime Minister Late Atal Bihari Vajpayee was one such great personality who was respected by even the leaders of his political opponents. Vajpayee always had a deep and intimate relationship with his birth and work place, the neighbouring state of Rajasthan.

Many memories and interesting stories related to him are still fresh on the tongue of the politicians and residents here. Former Vice President of India and former Chief Minister of Rajasthan Late Bhairon Singh Shekhawat was a very close associate of late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The trio of Atal Bihari Vajpayee along with former Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani and Bhairon Singh Shekhawat was a famous pair in political circles.

These three prominent leaders of the first generation of Bharatiya JanSangh succeeded in touching the heights of the country’s political horizon over time. The friendship of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Bhairon Singh Shekhawat is not hidden from anyone. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, like a father, performed all the marriage rituals of Bhairon Singh Shekhawat’s daughter’s marriage with former Rajasthan minister Narpat Singh Rajvi. During the Emergency, Vajpayee and Shekhawat were imprisoned together in Delhi’s Tihar Jail, but even there their humorous style and wit along with their banter remained hidden from no one.

They were a topic of discussion among the then opposition leaders, which also included former Prime Minister late Chandrashekhar. It was due to the close friendship between Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Lal Krishna Advani and Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and his close relations with former PM Chandrashekhar that the path was paved for Bhairon Singh Shekhawat to become the Chief Minister of Rajasthan after the massive victory of the Janata Party government in 1977 and later to become the Vice President of the country. Whenever the trio of Vajpayee, Advani and Shekhawat met at one place, there was never any storytelling, laughter and satirical humour. Special Rajasthani sweets such as Rabri, Mishrimawa, Bhagat’s Laddoo, Gulabskari etc were specially ordered for Vajpayee who was fond of eating and drinking